But when he retired from competition in 2003, his faith began to collapse. By 2007, he had renounced Christianity and embraced agnosticism, seemingly without regret. The Times announced his apostasy with the headline: “I’ve never been happier – says the man who won gold but lost God.”

Sports Psychology
In an interview posted on the Richard Dawkins Foundation website he admitted that the biblical verses he used to quote when competing was really just sports psychology dressed in religious clothes; confidence-boosting measures to give him a sense of higher purpose and divine assistance.

“I was always dismissive of sports psychology when I was competing, but I now realise that my belief in God was sports psychology in all but name…Believing in something beyond the self can have a hugely beneficial psychological impact, even if the belief is fallacious,” he says. “It provided a profound sense of reassurance for me because I took the view that the result was in God’s hands. He would love me, win, lose or draw.”

Psychological Deception
I was reminded of this dangerous psychological deception when I was recently re-reading Norman Vincent Peale’s best-selling The Power of Positive Thinking. Although Peale’s book has biblical verses sprinkled throughout, and although it has helped many people, much of what he taught people had no basis or grounding in reality.

For example, he recounts how salespeople who started repeating, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” increased their sales dramatically. What was not clear, however, was whether many of these people had any sense of who Christ was and is, which is really the key point in that verse.

Mantras and Elephants
It’s knowing who Christ was, what He did on the cross, and what He still does for us to this day that strengthens the believer for every task. For Peale’s salesmen, and Edwards, these kinds of biblical verses seemed to be more like a mantra, a self-assuring, almost self-hypnotizing sense that a higher power was on their side. Their sales and medals might have increased just as much if they had repeated, “I can do all things through the flying pink elephant who strengthens me.” As long as they believed there was a flying pink elephant and it was on their side.

Of course, we rejoice that there are many Christian athletes and salespeople who exercise truth faith in the real Christ as they seek to honor Him in their daily lives and callings. But the next time we’re tempted to embrace and celebrate the latest sports or entertainment celebrity who’s telling everybody “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” let’s just pause and ask: “Do they really know anything about this Christ? Is this more about Christ giving them success than Christ taking away their sins?” And, “Are they believing in Him for gold or for grace?” 

Before I was converted to Christ by His almighty grace, I worked for a large Scottish Mutual Fund, latterly in a consulting role. That was over twenty years ago, and yet last Sunday night, I found myself giving out financial advice again. This time my motive was not to make myself and others rich, but rather to help mid-late teens build a biblical foundation for handling money to the glory of God. And this time I could speak with the authority of God’s Word rather than the best computer forecasts and estimates. Here’s the outline I left with the young men and women:

Key Principles

1. God owns everything  (Ps. 24:11; 1 Chron. 29:11)

2. God loans us what we have (1 Chron. 29:12; James 1:17)

3. God says money is important (Jesus spoke more about money than anything else)

4. God will call us to account for how we use our money  (Matt. 25:19)

 Key Words

1. Study (Prov. 24:3,4)

• No one is born a George Soros.
• If someone gave you $2M today, you would buy a book on money management.
• The average American family will earn $2M in working life
• Consult with others who have a proven record of financial stewardship (Prov. 15:22)                 

2. Budget (Prov. 24:3,4; Luke 14:28)

• If you aim at nothing you’ll always hit it.
• 3% who had written goals achieve more financially than the other 97% combined
• Give every dollar of income a name and every dollar of expenditure a name

3. Save (Prov. 21:10; 22:3; Matt. 25: 14-30)

• Short-term (emergencies)
• Medium-term (major purchases)
• Long-term (retirement, college tuition)

4. Give (Prov. 3:9,10; Luke 6:38; 1 Cor. 16:2)

• Start now, even if it is a very small amount
• Church then chosen charity

5. Insure (Prov. 22:3)

• “Foresee the evil and hide (“cover”) yourself
  
• Number one cause of bankruptcy is medical bills  (#2 is credit cards)
  

6. Wait (Heb. 13:5; 2 Cor. 6:10; 1 Tim. 6:6)

• Be content with what God has given you and learn to patiently wait until you can buy with cash
• 19% of bankruptcies are filed by college students (usually caused by credit card debt)
• People spend 47% more when using credit cards than when using cash
• 88% of “Ninety days interest-free credit offers” are turned into high interest loans
• Avoid get-rich-quick schemes (Prov. 13:11)

 7. Unite (Eph. 5:22-31)

• “One flesh” means “one set of finances”
• “If you are not working together it’s not going to work” (Dave Ramsey).
• “Separate checking accounts mean one of two things, either ignorance or problems” (Dave Ramsey).

8. Repay (Prov. 6:5; 22:7)

• Repay loans as fast as you can “like a gazelle escaping a hunter”
  

9. Work (Eccl. 9:10; 1 Tim. 5:8)

• Choose a vocation in an area/interest you are passionate about and God has gifted you in, rather than something that will make you rich.

10. Audit (2 Cor.5:10)

• Review, review, review.
• Seek accountability (husband, wife, parent, friend) before you are called to account.

Conclusion

1. Above all seek the unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8)

2. Lay up treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:20)